Cigarette snuffer



A ril 2, 1968 1.. E. M MICHAEL 3,375,332 CIGARETTE SNUFFER Filed April 11, 1966 INVENTOR LAWRENCE E. MQMICHAEL M, 61: aw

ATTOR N EYS CIGARETTE SNUFFER Lawrence E. .McMichael,,248S. 4th Ave.,

Beech Grove, Ind. .46107 Filed Apr. 11, 1966, Ser. No. 541,842

2 Claims. (Cl. 131--235) ABSTRACT OF THE 1 DISCLOSURE portion disposed inside the receptacle.

The present inventiontconcerns a novel cigarette extinguisher and ash receiverf It frequently happens that a smoker will incompletely extinguish a cigarette before depositing the butt in an ashtray. When the ashtray is already partially filled, an incompletely extinguished butt deposited therein will often ignite other butts and flammable material in the ashtray, resulting in.a smouldering fire and;noxious fumes. This problem becomes particularly acute for ashtrays in automobiles, busses andairplanes, because of the relatively small size of such ashtrays and the diversion of the smokers attention in extinguishing his cigarette. A conventional open ashtray also allows ashes to be spilled or blown from theashtray.

A major object, then, of this invention is to provide a novel form of ash receiver which will swiftly and effortlessly extinguish a cigarette placed. therein. Another object of the invention is to provide such an ash receiver which will contain the butts and ashes deposited therein out of view and which will prevent them from being blown or spilled from the ashtray.

Further objects of the invention are to provide an extinguishing ashtray which may besimply and easily manufactured, and one which is intrinsically pleasing in appearance.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention may be embodied in the forms illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings areillustrative only, and that changes may be made in the, specific constructions illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not exceeded.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, partially broken away, of a first form of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view in cross section of the snufiing tube of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second form of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a side view in cross section of the snufiing tube and its carrying closure of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a third form of the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the reference numeral indicates generally a receptacle adapted to hold a quantity of cigarette ashes and butts. The numeral 11 indicates generally a snuffing tube adapted to extinguish a cigarette introduced thereinto, as will be explained.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the receptacle 10 assumes the form of a lid ded box 12. Since all cigarette butts deposited in the United States PatentO Patented Apr. 2, 1968 box 12 will be cold, the box need not be made of a fireresistant material. The lid or closure 13 of the box 12 may be opened or removed to allow the removal of accumulated' butts; FIG. 1 shows a latch 14 for this purpose. The snufiing tube 11 is mounted in the lid 13 by means of a hole 13' in one wall of the lid and by two slots 16 in an opposite wall of the lid. The snuffing tube itself, indicated generally by 11, is substantially tubular in shape, consisting of an upwardly-opening receiver 15 converging and closing at its distal end to a closed, tubular region 17 whose distal end 18 communicates with the interior of the box 12 and a support member 19 projecting rearwardly from the tubular region 17. The distal end of the support member 19 carries two tabs 20 for engagement with the slots 16 of the lid 13. It will be appreciated that the entire snufiing tube 11 may be formed from a single piece of stock tubing, such as copper or aluminum tubing, by cutting and swaging it to the proper shape.

A lighted cigarette introduced into the relatively wide mouth 21 of the receiver 15 will be guided by the converging wall 22 into the tubular region 17. Once inside the tubular region, whose inside diameter is substantially the same as the external diameter of the cigarette, the cigarette will be quickly extinguished by the combined action of suffocation and heat conduction. It has been found that a cigarette introduced into a copper snufiing tube of the present shape will be extinguished in approximately five to ten seconds. The length of the tubular portion 17 is such that several cigarette butts may be simultaneously contained therein in end-to-end relation; later butts introduced into the snufiing tube 11 thus act to push the already-extinguished butts through the open end 18, thence to be deposited within the box 12. The length of the tubular region 17 and the short time required for extinguishing the butt assure that all butts expelled from the end 18 will be cold, even though several cigarettes may be placed in the smiling tube in quick succession.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is particularly suitable for use as an accessory ash receiver, for instance, in an automobile. Here the re,- c'eptacle 10 consists of an elongated shell 23 open at one end 24 and a demountable closure 25 which carries the snufiing tube 11'. The shell 23 carries an articulated yoke 26 for mounting the ash receiver on a surface. This yoke 26 may be of the familiar kind found on flashlights, in which two arms 27 are pivotally secured to the shell 23 and to a U-shaped member 28, which member 28 carries a permanent magnet assembly 29. The open end 24 of the shell 23 and the end 30 of the closure 25 are provided with mating screw threads. The closure 25 has an axial hole 31 therethrough adapted to grip the snufiing tube 11' so that the receiver 15' projects exteriorly from the receptacle 10' and the end 18 communicates with the interior of the shell 23 when the closure 25 is secured thereto.

The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 is particularly suitable for use as standard equipment on automobiles, busses, airplanes, and the like. It is in these applications especially that ashtrays are frequently of a small size and are somewhat inconveniently located, thus increasing the likelihood that a cigarette introduced thereinto will be incompletely extinguished. For the driver of an automobile, the extinguishing of a cigarette in a conventional ashtray is not only annoying but also dangerous, since he must divert his attention from his driving to ensure that his cigarette is properly extinguished. In FIG. 5, the receptacle 10" is one form of conventional ashtry 32 found in many types of vehicles, having slider rails 34, 34 formed therein. For the purposes of this invention, however, the ashtray 32 may be of any form commonly found in vehicles, such as the sliding form, the tilting form and so forth.

3 In this embodiment of the invention, the snuffing tube 11" projects'through, and is secured to, the dashboard wall 33 of the ashtray 32, which, in its conventional cooperation with the dashboard, acts as a closure for the ashtray. It will be appreciated that the receiver portion 15" of the snufiing tube 11 also serves as the handle for the ashtray, and that it may thus easily be made a part of the surrounding decor. As is true in the preceding embodiments, a cigarette introduced into the receiver 15" will be extinguished in the tubular portion 17" and thence expelled into the ashtray 32. The use of a straight snutfing tube such as 11' in this application, however, has several disadvantages. First, vibration might tend to move the butts in the snuffing tube backward toward the receiver 15', unless the inside diameter of the tubular portion were made so small that the cigarettes therein could be pushed through only with difliculty. Secondly,'it will be required in this application that the snufling tube be mounted in a position other than near the top of the ashtray 32; thus the discharge end 18 of a straight snufling tube 11' might become blocked by an accumulation of debris when the ashtray 32 was only partially full. To overcome these disadvantages, the snufling tube 11" has a longitudinally arcuate tubular portion 17", both ends of which are at a level higher than that of the middle. This form of tubular portion 17" operates to prevent the undesired backward movement of the cigarette butts therein by bending them slightly and also by the force of gravity. The curvature of the tubular portion 17" need not be made so great that difliculty in pushing the butts therethrough is experienced, nor need the vertical extent of the snufilng tube 11" be large; it is only necessary that the curvature provide a stable equilizrium point and suflicient restraint to prevent the cumulative effect of the vibration impulses. The form of snufling tube 11" also has the advantage that the end 18" may be positioned near the top of the ashtray 32 even through the tubular portion 17" passes through the dashboard wall 33 at a location other than near the top. Thus the end 18 of the snufling tube will not be blocked by an accumulation of cigarette butts within the ashtray 32.

I claim as my invention: 1. A cigarette extinguisher and ash receiver, comprising a box having an open upper end and a lid therefor, said lid having a substantially planar horizontal body portion and perimetral flange means comprising a plurality of angularly-related wall portions substantially perpendicular to said body portion, a unitary snufling tube of a fireresistant and heat-conductive material, said snufling tube being affixed to said lid and having a first portion provided with an opening therethrough, an open end shaped to form a Wide-mouthed receiver, and an intermediate portion adapted slidingly to contain a plurality of cigarette butts therein in end-to-end relation, said wide-mouthed receiver convergingtoward said intermediate portion, first and second wall portions of said flange means being formed with openings therethrough, said snufiing tube penetrating the opening in said first wall portion to dispose said wide-mouthed receiver outside said flange means, and to dispose said first tube portion so as to be in communication with the interior of said box, and said snufling tube further penetrating the opening in said second wall portion, and means engaging said second wall portion to restrain said snufiing tube against movement relative to said flange means.

2. The device of claim 1 in which said opening in said second wall portion is a slot and said restraining means is a tab integral with said snuffing tube and penetrating said slot.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 15,361 5/1922 Griffin 131-235 Re. 21,303 12/1939 Harper 131-235 D. 169,042 3/ 1953 MacNally et a1. 131-235 X 2,171,489 8/1939 Cameron 131-235 2,228,847 1/1941 Rutherford 13 l235 2,480,245 8/1949 Irvin 131---235 2,973,766 3/1961 Milbourne 131--235 FOREIGN PATENTS 669,481 8/ 1929 France. 840,937 6/ 1952 Germany.

SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner.

JOSEPH S. REICH, Examiner. 

